Jeff Sessions defends 'zero tolerance' immigration policy as 'legitimate, moral, and decent'

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 10 September 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday refused to back down from his claims that "zero tolerance" policies for illegal immigration are the best way to prevent crime and economic exploitation in the U.S., NBC News reports.

Speaking to immigration judges in Falls Church, Virginia, Sessions defended the Trump administration's hard-line approach as "perfectly legitimate, moral, and decent." The "zero tolerance" policy that he announced earlier this year was partially dismantled after major blowback to the administration's separation of migrant families. Many children are still being held separate from their parents even months after President Trump signed an executive order ending the practice, as adults were uniformly prosecuted for illegal entry.

Sessions said the "zero tolerance" approach was an appropriate way to create consequences for migrants seeking to exploit Obama-era "incentives." But while "a lot of those crossing our borders are leaving a difficult life," he said, "asylum was never meant to provide escape from all the problems people face every day around the world." The attorney general also alleged that migrants lie about fears they face in their home countries in order to remain in the U.S.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox